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 The Past From Above: Aerial Photographs of Archaeological Sites :: 0892368179
Description
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With the advent of aviation in the late nineteenth century, archaeologists realized the potential of a new point of view; combining flight with photography allowed archaeological sites to be studied from the air. By the early twentieth century, aerial archaeology had become an established
research method. Ancient urban settlements, necropolises buried in rubble or sand, and ancient drainage systems could be seen more clearly from above-in some cases, these sites were discernible only from the air.
This magnificent collection of aerial photographs of the world's foremost archaeological sites covers 249 locations in over fifty countries. Moving from Hadrian's Wall to Uluru, from the Tower of Babel to the Nasca Lines, from Tara to Jerusalem, readers can now view the familiar from a new
perspective-above. Leading aerial photographer Georg Gerster has teamed up with archaeologist Charlotte Trumpler to shed new light on the dawn of civilization.Editorial Descriptions are usually submitted by the manufacturers, publishers and authors. Contact us if you are one of them, and wish to change the above description. |
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Author: Guest
If you want to review the wonder of human kind's imprint on the earth, enjoy this book. If you want to wonder at the uses of the earth's treasures to show creativity and genius spend time with this book. That these architectural remains can be seen from the air in entirety is made possible by Georg Gerster's incredible artistry.
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Author: Guest
Exceeded expectations. The views were unexpectedly revealing, and the written descriptions of each view were also unexpectedly revealing.
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Author: Guest
The photographs in this book are fascinating, as you can see every little detail of the numerous locales and historic places, such as Stonehenge, the Great Wall of China, the Tower of Babel, and Antarctica. The terrain around the ancient St. John's Basilica in Turkey where the apostle John was buried in the sixth century and the stone monastry in Ireland amid all the rocks with the vivid green are amazing to see.
The first known aerial photo was taken from a balloon in 1858. In the beginning, this type of photography was used for military reconnaissane, and you were deemed a spy to be taking pictures of important places from above. Even now, the Middle East is off limits to such spying. Charles Lindbergh and wife, Anne, took aerial photos of the Maya ruins in the jungles of Central America in 1929. Historian Charlotte Trumpler declares, in the introduction of this book (she also has a book with the same title), that the Lindbergh pictures were "unsystematic and lacking in any true understanding of the local geography." That wasn't the intention of the adventuresome couple.
George Gerster has photographed the Parthenon in Greece and located the three-hundred giant figures etched into the sand of Lima, Peru, which date back to 200 B.C. His career in aerial photography started in 1963 when he chartered a small plane to take pictures of Egyptian sites which were due to be flooded by a dam. In 1997, he took a marvelous shot of the city of Elba in Syria, with the ancient ruins south of the town with designs of different colors surrounding it.
Modern-day crop designs in Austria, America, and other places occur seemingly overnight and have a meaning known only to those who have the skill and patience to complete them. A White Horse made out of the chalk of Oxforshire is shown in this book, dating back to 1200 B.C. Now, USA has a new one out in the remote desert surrounding Albuquerque, New Mexico. They resemble crop circles and can be seen only from high altitude, thus the secrecy for their being there in the northern barren area to serve as aerial signposts showing the location of a huge vault built into a mountainside. This elusive underground vault was built for the express purpose of keeping the writings of L. Ron Hubbard in case of the human extinction as we know it; with this sign for Scientologists to find when they come back to Earth in the far-off future. All of Hubbad's works have been engraved on stainless steel tablets and encased in titanium capsules far underground. In the event of nuclear distruction, these writings by a sci-fi founder of the church will be waiting and the space ships will know the location. Other religions have preserved their sacred texts. After all, Joseph Smith discovered the gold plates of Mormonism in upstate New York.
Professor William Sumnre of the University of Chicago believes in the importance of preserving archaeology in aerial photographs. He says of the display in Gerster's book, "The thing about Georg's images is they are superb. If there's anything to be seen, it's in his images." Mr. Gerster lives in his native Switzerland and is at an age to retire, but perhaps he will fly over New Mexico and take some detailed photographs of the giant circles on the scrubland outside of Albuquerque. which proclaim the archiving project of a group whose cadre is "We come back." This book would be a great reference book of antiquity of the future for the future.
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Author: Guest
This is more than a 'coffee table' book.
It consists of 249 photographs from around the world -- all archeological (and many world heritage) sites.
It's uniqueness is this: There are large sharp color photographs as well as duplicate small color photographs.
Appended to the smaller photographs is a signed discussion and description which, while succinct, is comprehensive and satisfactory.
I have not seen a book like this one. Both the photographs, the worldwide areas covered, and the text are very fine.
Strongly recommended.
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